The Pirates Have Two Obvious Problems to Fix

Well, that was an awesome opening.

Apparently, we're live now, and it didn't play the opening.

So, with that said, welcome to Bucco Brew.

Welcome to the North Shore Nine podcast, presented by FanDuel.

This is Bucco Brew, powered by Defer Coffee and Tea.

I'm your host, Anthony DiNardo, with who we have, Jim Rosati.

And Jim, hope your Monday's better than mine right now.

my Monday is great.

it was an outstanding weekend.

Louisville one Friday night.

Steelers one Sunday.

Yeah.

I know why the intro didn't play there.

I probably should have told you beforehand.

All good.

But yeah.

Oh, well.

Yeah.

It's all good.

It's all good.

I know why too now, but yeah, it is what it is.

So I'm going to add the outro.

So we have that, but there we go.

With that being said.

Yeah.

That was a pretty good weekend, I guess.

Yeah.

Way off starting.

Dodgers-Brewers started last night.

Brewers snuck out game one.

Yeah, that was a bummer.

You know what?

I'm... Skubal versus Misiorowski.

Like I said, I'm going to complain about this again.

Skubal versus Misiorowski.

And we get four and two-thirds innings of bullpen from the Brewers.

Three innings of bullpen.

It's...

We used to be a proper country, DiNardo.

We're starting pitchers, went more than four in the third innings.

Your ace used to be able to get fifteen outs in a game, right?

I get it, but also your ace didn't load the bases.

Skubal does.

Misiorowski didn't load the bases.

I know.

I know.

I gave up a hit.

He gave up one.

He gave up one base runner in the fifth inning and they pulled him after.

We also had teen outs, Stephanie pitches through three.

Yeah, it's.

That's my old man yells a cloud moment.

I know.

Hey, I get it.

But at the same time, too, it is.

It is the playoffs.

You pull no punches like you just.

I'm just sorry.

Best pitcher in baseball should be able to go more than four and a third innings.

Well, maybe then he should be able to.

Maybe he should be able to.

Two postseason games this year.

Jared Jones would have done it.

Two postseason games this year so far, and Jacob Misiorowski has failed to go five innings in either one.

Yeah.

Well, either way.

Especially from the National League side.

I'll say like it's been a really good playoffs Yeah, it's been it's been a fun it's been a fun postseason Guardians took out the White Sox sir advancing to play Tampa

Tampa Bay And then you have the Brewers and Dodgers so It's not quite the way that and i'm going to say

people like you because you're definitely banging the drum on this like yankees dodgers the big markets you got to prove everyone wrong is not really going the way of helping out the whole cba talks and negotiations in those terms and

i'm not here to tell you that's right or wrong in that sense but i'm saying when you're hoping hey the big lockout let's hope we get big dodgers yankees just to shut up some more yankees is out because tampa

Took them out.

It's Cleveland.

The Brewers are there.

Brewers look really good, though, too, by the way.

And now the Dodgers.

So the Dodgers, their payroll eclipses all three combined.

That's wild.

Yeah.

I don't think any of this has any effect on the CBA, but yeah, I was definitely hoping it would make things really easy for the narrative, right?

But...

Yeah, an American League team is going to make it with a lower payroll than the Pirates.

Mm-.

And that's most of the shows that can't be done.

American League is also just trash.

Just absolute trash.

That's bad.

So, I don't know.

Who are you wanting, and then who do you also think is going to advance?

Obviously, you want the Dodgers.

I want the Dodgers to win the World Series, and I want them to beat the Rays.

Okay.

Is that how you think it's going to play out, too?

No idea.

Sure.

Because I'm always right.

I always get what I want.

Clearly.

That's why the Yankees are there.

Clearly.

I'm a Pirates podcaster and fan.

I always get what I want.

I know the feeling.

That's spoiled.

spoiled rotten Pirates fans Anyhow What are we gonna talk about today Jim?

we are going to talk about you mentioned I mentioned that American League was trash There were there were two specific parts of this Pirates team this year that were trash one of which was their issues versus

left-handed pitching they went eighteen and thirty three this year and games versus left-handed starting pitchers they were sixty four and forty seven against righties so that one thing right

there you know sixty four and forty seven pace probably gets you into the postseason right so like you could just look at the record versus left-handed pitchers and be like hey that's why they're not here right is that

So you've got that.

There's also the obvious bullpen issue that there was as well.

But today I want to talk about just some really early offseason thoughts on, one, does the bullpen need fixed or has it already been fixed?

But more importantly, this left-handed pitching issue, like how do you fix this problem?

Can it be fixed internally?

are you going to have to look outside the organization for it?

But I think, I think that's going to be, that's gotta be something that you focus on this off season is right.

You got to figure out a way to be better against left-handed starting pitching.

No, that's quite obvious.

That is very obvious.

That's something that was not addressed at the deadline at all.

And let's just talk a little bit about the left-handed, pitching problem here.

Oneil Cruz had tremendous strides this year in terms of hitting left-handed because, he was absolutely part of the problem.

before this year.

like you weren't expecting him to be a solution for left-handed pitching.

So, he was also, this team probably should have been even worse if Oneil Cruz, Oneil Cruz hit lefties better than he hit righties this year.

And that's how much the improvement was.

one of the biggest reasons we hit two-eighty is because of his improvement of hitting lefties.

So, he was part of the solution in that problem.

But I guess what I want to say to that is, let's start with him.

can you also expect this type of product?

Like is his problem versus lefties solved and moving forward?

Just like, Hey, he's good.

Maybe he's not going to hit three hundred versus lefties, but like he's okay.

Or are you also still like, well, maybe just one year.

Yeah.

as of right now, it's still just one year.

It's a pretty small sample size too, right?

one hundred and thirty nine plate appearances this year against left-handed pitchers.

If you were to look at one hundred thirty nine play appearances from anyone else in any other thing, you'd say, it's looking good right now, but obviously needs to keep it up.

So that's where I'm at right now.

He definitely looked like a different hitter this year versus left handed pitching.

he shortened up his swing.

He focused more on just like, let me get the barrel of the bat to the ball and went the other way with it a lot.

You're still hitting the ball hard because he's Oneil Cruz and he's going to hit the ball hard regardless.

But, one hundred thirty nine plate appearances, only four home runs for him, which only four.

But you look at some other guys on the team, right?

Like Brandon Lowe had eight homers versus lefties.

Reynolds had seven.

Flores had six.

Valdez had nine.

So it's not like he went out there and just like crushed him from a power standpoint, but he hit three twenty six against him.

So he was just he was just trying to put the ball in play more this year.

And he accomplished that.

he still struck out a good chunk of the time, but he was putting the barrel to the ball.

I think you look at the baby and you say, OK, that's probably not sustainable.

So, yeah, this is one of my hesitations on, is this something that can be continued?

He hit five twenty one with balls in play against left handed pitching, which is an absurd figure.

Absolutely sustainable.

It's just an absurd figure.

Now he hits the ball super hard.

So you can expect that number to be higher than like normal for folks.

But five twenty one, probably not something that can continue long term.

But, yeah, I definitely want to see him take another step forward.

You want to see him continue to work on it because, yeah, like if Oneil Cruz, when healthy, can be an everyday player as opposed to the platoon bat, really, that he was his previous couple seasons

because he was like unplayable against lefties.

He had a four hundred OPS.

in twenty twenty five against lefties four hundred.

Oh, that's not even that's not a slugging.

That's not OBP.

It's four hundred OPS.

They slugged four seventy three this year against them.

Right.

So with that said, I want to add one more thing here to expected Woba versus righties three seventy expected Woba versus lefties three fifteen.

So obviously, like the expected numbers support what you're saying.

But also.

What I'm alluding to here is It was certainly like, that's fine.

That is fine.

Especially that's your weakness.

Now, this thing is what he did this year versus lefties was a strength.

it really helped out versus lefties.

I'm not going into next year thinking like, okay, Oneil Cruz is a problem solver versus lefties.

But I am going in next year thinking that, you know what?

he's an everyday player at least, like he's going to help out first lefty.

Maybe he's not your leadoff guy.

Maybe he's not batting second verse lefties or whatnot, but I'm comfortable with, Oneil Cruz in a lot of verse lefties.

So let's start there.

Konnor Griffin comes back.

He's naturally going to be hitting lefties as well too.

Right?

So like the two guys that you're counting on this year versus lefties, one will certainly be there.

The other one shouldn't be a problem as he was in the before, but maybe not so much the solution.

So I think you still like, you really need to focus on some right-handed bats, some guys that can hit lefties, maybe not just one of them, but like maybe a couple of them.

And that's where, you come into this whole roster construction part.

And, obviously third base is a big glaring hole at this point in time, assuming Brandon Lowe doesn't come back.

And I think we're all on that assumption.

Is that fair with this?

we want Brandon Lowe back, but I think we're going to assume he's not.

For this exercise, we're going to assume Brandon Lowe is not coming back.

I think that's probably a good thing to assume.

So that probably puts Nick Gonzales at second.

So third base, wide open.

And then, of course, outfield.

We had this little discussion.

So I think that's probably the two easiest spots to look, right?

Third base and an outfielder of some sense.

Yeah, and a couple other things too.

Before we go external here, I think the Pirates are certainly in a little bit better spot going into next year than they were this year.

because of a couple of people that you mentioned there, one Konnor Griffin, Konnor Griffin against left-handed pitchers this year at three, twenty five, one twenty seven weighted runs created plus.

So like him being there all year long is naturally going to make the team better against left-handed pitching, I think.

And then there's two other names where they weren't with the Pirates all season long.

but they also crushed lefties one Esmerlyn Valdez.

You saw when he came up, just a lefty masher, nine of his home runs were against lefties.

He hit two thirty three.

He slugged six thirty three against lefties.

He had a one sixty eight way to runs created.

Plus, he was the best hitter on the team versus left handed pitching this year.

So you hope that, hey, Valdez has another year under his belt, gets his rookie seasons over, and he's going to hopefully be around the whole season.

That should naturally make the team a little bit better.

And then lastly, Rafael Flores Jr., another guy who we saw the last month and a half just play really well.

Again, something that I don't think you can count on Rafael Flores Jr.

still at this point because we're still talking about such a small sample size.

But everything we saw out of Flores looked really good.

And in his seventy eight plate appearances against lefties, he had six homers.

He slugged five, sixty, five, sixty five.

He had a one forty six way to runs created plus.

So like if you can just take that lineup right now and you've got Valdez, you've got Flores, you've got Griffin and you got Bryan Reynolds who Bryan Reynolds hit lefties this year to one twenty three way to runs created plus.

So like between those four guys.

I think you're already in a spot where it's like, okay, I can build something here.

and then, Cruz is the wild card.

if you throw Cruz in there and he's hitting lefties and that gives you a fifth, pretty good hitter against lefties, then you can fill out your lineup with everybody else, right?

Nick Gonzales and, whoever you want to put in there in the outfield.

You can throw maybe a Ryan O'Hearn in there from time to time.

So that's another big piece here is Valdez and Flores playing a full season as well as Konnor Griffin.

Those young guys, as much as this team struggled against lefties, the young call-ups did a good job against them.

right and i want to say to your point about flores as well and this goes Esmerlyn Valdez to some level also because Esmerlyn Valdez has certainly had more plate appearances he's

got more under his belt in that sense but both of those like i'm not here to say both of them are everyday players it's too early Esmerlyn Valdez certainly showed some signs

Rafael Flores certainly shows some signs.

But if anything, the one thing they have been able to do is hit lefties.

I'm more comfortable at least maybe they're a platoon player at the very least at this point in time versus lefties.

So it's like even when Rafael Flores was putting up just barely average offensive numbers in AAA for this whole season versus lefties, he was doing his job.

So it's like I at least have confidence at least versus left-handed pitching next year.

I could probably pencil them in that lineup to your point.

So yeah, absolutely.

So like, again, with that being said, First base, you have too many guys there.

Like you said, the Achilles heel there is versus lefties, but you're not adding, like, a third first baseman on this club in that sense.

you're not replacing Cruz.

there's so many places that you can't really replace here.

And, again, I think third base is going to be a hole.

So is that your thought and focus here is, like, you're bringing in a third baseman?

and that third baseman better be able to hit lefties?

I think that's certainly a piece.

And then if you want to look at the outfield to bring in another platoon bat out there.

But yeah, you look at what's out there, and there's not a lot.

this isn't a thing that is wide across the league.

that there's...

that there's going to be available third baseman.

There's like Alec Bohm is a free agent next year.

who has historically handled third baseman?

okay.

and I think this year he actually hit them quite well.

let's see Alec Bohm this year.

Yeah.

So like a one, twenty way runs created plus for Alec Bohm.

there's like a Eugenio Suárez who they obviously missed out on this past off season, had a pretty rough year, but ended the year really ended the year

really nicely.

he's a right-handed hitter.

The issue with Suarez is like, as he ages, how's he going to look at third base?

Because he really hasn't played.

He hasn't.

Well, yeah, he can be, he's been pretty bad at third base over there, over the last few years this year, he didn't play the over there a whole lot.

And he was negative seven outs above average, negative four defensive runs saved.

And that was just in the first half of the season.

So like, right.

Yeah, he can be worse than Nick Gonzales, actually.

There's a couple names in here that I think are interesting, though.

Coby Mayo of the Baltimore Orioles is a guy who hasn't been able to find consistent playing time with that team yet.

He hasn't really established himself as an everyday major leaguer yet.

He did play a hundred and thirty-two games this year, which is the most he's ever played.

ended up the season with, a decent offensive year, a hundred and twelve way to run straight plus he had twenty four homers.

And if you look at just what he did against left handed pitchers, crushed him right here.

Three twenty two.

He did an eleven hundred OPS and over two hundred way to run straight plus sixteen of his twenty four home runs came against the left handed pitcher.

He homered once every ten plate appearances this year versus a lefty.

So like if you're looking at somebody where okay this guy can mash lefties Coby Mayo looks like that guy again defense is probably going to be an issue there

though negative nine defensive runs saved negative two outs above average at third base like Coby Mayo's more and more looking like he's a dh or a first baseman.

He doesn't really look like much of a third baseman because every time you put him over there, he's not necessarily making the plays.

So there's him, which offensively would solve your problem, but then you're in the same boat defensively.

you were in this year, maybe even worse.

one name that I do want to throw out there.

and I talked about them last off season and maybe even the off season before this, where if you're looking for just an under the radar, Hey, I don't even need an everyday player.

I just need someone who can play the position and can hit left-handed pitching.

Edmundo Sosa is a free agent this season.

And he's someone who, in his career, has never played more than...

had three hundred and twenty six plate appearances, the most he's ever had this past year at two hundred and fifty overall and eighty nine weighted runs created plus.

But if you break it down against lefties, he hit two ninety, one twenty five way runs created plus.

Oh, and he can field and he can play shortstop.

He can play.

He can play a lot.

He's a great utility player, somebody that He's like Jared Triolo if Jared Triolo could hit lefties.

Right.

That's what I look at Edmundo Sosa like.

I would like to see them, if you're not going to make a big splash, I'd like to see them target Edmundo Sosa.

I like that, too.

He makes a lot of sense because, again, he just fits this team so nicely.

And, we talked last week.

We're talking about the arb numbers.

And, like, keeping Jared Triolo at that rate probably makes sense.

But is this maybe the last year you keep Jared Triolo at that price point?

Edmundo Sosa would be a nice Jared Triolo replacement because he absolutely gives his team exactly what you want out of Jared Triolo.

And he costs, he was a four million dollar free agent last year.

It was his last year of arbitration.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yeah, not free agent.

But you look at him and his overall body of work, he's probably not getting a huge deal.

No.

Maybe if you are able to get him, that's your Jared Triolo replacement.

Because I would love to get Edmundo Sosa.

it fits this club very nice.

Like you mentioned, because the shortstop is a big thing too.

Like I'm fine with Jared Triolo being the backup to short with Konnor Griffin there, on this roster.

But like, that's it.

That's it for shortstop.

And it's not like Jared Triolo's glove is great for shortstop.

We saw that.

It's a little worse than I anticipated coming into this year.

So this would be excellent.

I do like that.

But like I'm with you too, especially third base.

Like I think third base is certainly, we talked last week also that There is a Murph Gray in this system, and he's close.

he made his double A, and he mashed.

He mashed all year long.

I don't think you can expect him to be here day one and give you, like, the Konnor Griffin type of thought process.

Like, okay, he's our third baseman next year.

I'll pencil that in.

Maybe a stopgap.

But I'm looking like a one-year stopgap probably at the very least.

Which makes things tricky, because it's like, what type of free agent do you want?

You brought up Alec Bohm, and actually, I like Alec Bohm.

We talked last year.

Is there a Mitch Keller for Alec Bohm type of deal you could work out to some level or whatnot?

Because they're interested in some pitching and stuff.

I like Alec Bohm for this team.

He plays first base.

He plays third base.

He plays it well.

He plays it adequate.

He hits lefties.

He's not a slugger by any means.

He's not coming in here and just Taking control and being a force in this lineup, but he doesn't like necessarily hurt it I know last year was a down near offensively, too maybe that's part of it

like who do you really think Alec Bohm is I think it's about a little bit better than league average hitter Who has some fine enough defense?

I think he's gonna cost a whole lot But also it's just like I don't I don't know if you're looking at like a free agent cuz again I guess it all comes down like what do you think about Murph Gray?

I you get a long time you sign a guy to a deal like that you're moving on from gray probably using a trade bit for a bit or something i like i don't know i think

it i think it would be unwise to throw your eggs in the murph gray basket right now well like and again though but if you're trading him if you're assigned someone

first because he's locked up i don't know i don't think so necessarily like there's no there's no rule against having depth you know what like that

you it's something that you can have i like murph gray i'm very optimistic on how murph gray's career is gonna go i hope he is manning the third base position for the pirates for

many years to come but like, I'm thinking about twenty twenty seven and I don't know if Murph Gray is necessarily in my plans for twenty twenty seven, especially the first half of the year.

So if I'm looking for somebody to man third base, this is different from the shortstop situation this offseason because the shortstop situation this offseason, it was clear like okay we have our shortstop of

the future his name is Konnor Griffin it's just a matter of when he's going to arrive is he going to be here opening day is he going to be here april ninth is he going to be here may first he's going to be here june first whenever that date is that position is his so like going out there and finding

an external shortstop was like a luxury Third base, I love Murph Gray, but you can't put him in the same category, obviously,

as you could put Konnor Griffin.

Murph Gray, I would love for him to be the third baseman of the future for the Pirates, but I'm not saying Murph Gray is the third baseman of the future for the Pirates right now.

I don't think you could say that.

We've seen players crush the ball in the minors a lot.

and then they come up and they don't do anything.

Now, granted, this past season, we finally saw some players come up and do stuff for the first time in a while, but I'm going to have to see that a little bit more consistently to start

trusting double-A numbers.

So that's where I'm at.

Murph Gray's there, and he's a luxury that you have, but Murph Gray has nothing to do with my third base plans this offseason.

If I'm running the team, I guess, I guess for me, because he is there and because, and also I think it's part of the pirates.

Like, what do they think about him?

they truly believe in him.

and I can understand why.

I might not be looking for a long term.

I might be looking for a one year, like a Brandon Lowe type of maneuver here.

Let me get someone who's here for twenty twenty seven.

I can reevaluate next year because if you think he's that dude for twenty twenty eight, you have your guy and he's pretty hard for three years.

like this makes a whole lot of sense.

But at least you get a hold of the year to evaluate him.

I'm looking more towards like a short term stopgap because like, do I want to invest ten million dollars in Alec Bohm?

Like, do I think Murph Gray could be better than Alec Bohm?

but now I'm paying nine million more dollars to have Bohm.

So I guess that's where I'm at is like, I would prefer more of like the Edmundo Sosa, someone who's maybe like the last year.

and someone brought up here, Hamilton with, our boy Arenado.

Like maybe that's, a solution here too.

Like I'm looking at guys like the last year of arb or one year left on their deal.

Yes, the Diamondbacks have basically come out and said they want to shed some salary.

And the Cardinals are paying a good portion of that right now.

So I don't know right now specifically how much for next year it would cost the Pirates.

I know we're not looking too much into salary as well.

But he's a person.

I don't think he's going to cost too much to get.

He hit lefties.

He actually had a nice season this year.

He had a really nice season.

Yeah, so one year of Arenado is something I'm looking into as well.

And again, you're also solving a defense problem.

Is the guy he once was?

No, but he's still better than Nick Gonzales.

It's better than what you had there.

Yeah, thanks for bringing that up, by the way, Hamilton, because...

Yeah, he wasn't really on my radar.

But yeah, he's entering his last year before becoming a free agent.

He's making fifteen million dollars next year.

The Cardinals are paying nine million of that.

OK, so six million.

You're on the hook for six million of Nolan Arenado.

Yeah, if the Diamondbacks are going to be shopping him around, you've got to you got to be asking about him because he would be a really.

really nice fit obviously the defense is outstanding he's perhaps the best third baseman of our generation probably like let's actually not perhaps he is like

nolan arenado and manny machado or and i guess you can throw Ke'Bryan Hayes in there now too but like those are the three best defensive third baseman of this century right

So, yeah, I would welcome Nolan Arenado to this team with open arms.

That would be actually now that I'm revisiting this.

That's your number.

Like, if you can get him, he's your top target if he's available.

Yeah, like an eight ninety four OPS versus lefties like he solves a lot of.

Yeah.

things on this team you know now again he's aging i don't know if you expect what he did last year but still like i think it's if you if you can get league average arenado you know as far as a hitter i'm taking that all day

long league average hitting arenado and gold glove defense is a massive upgrade over what you got at that position right any of the previous years that

you've been here So – Yeah, no, that's a good call.

It's a good call.

I like that a lot.

And as I said, I don't know if Arizona – because St.

Louis is paying a good chunk of that salary, so maybe they hold on to him.

But I also know Arizona wants to give Jordan Lawlar some playing time at some point.

So maybe you move on from Arenado so you can put Lawler at third and then Perdomo at short.

Maybe they're trying to move Ketel Marte.

Mm-.

Yeah, if they're looking to move Arenado, you got to be part of those conversations.

Right.

And the other one, so this isn't technically Arb.

This would be a trade for a guy on the last deal of his contract, but technically he's probably going to go Arb.

But regardless, Houston.

I don't know if they're really entertaining trying to run this back again.

They were the worst team ever to make the playoffs, essentially.

They got bounced.

They're old.

I don't think they're getting any better.

Another guy that we talked, Isaac Paredes.

like...

is that a guy now he'll be a little more expensive for sure again he has a thirteen point five million club option he is projected to make fifteen in arb that's not gonna come cheap like arenado would essentially but

that is an option that's also like the stop gap that's a guy like your Brandon Lowe type of trade you know let's get a guy here right now worry about later and this guy who can hit lefties Last year he had a nine, I'm sorry, seven, seventy nine OPS versus lefties.

He sucked parades.

Yeah, he's... we've talked about Paredes now for, I feel like, three years.

I know, right?

His name comes up every year.

Just a good all-around solid player.

he was in Detroit, then got traded to Tampa Bay, and then when he was in Tampa Bay, I feel like that's when it was like, man, can you get this guy?

He's put up two four-war seasons, put up a four-point four-war last year.

It was his best year of his career.

Houston is just...

Yeah, they're in a weird spot because they're aging.

They clearly probably need to, like, reload.

I don't know if they're necessarily in for, like, a full-on rebuild, but they could certainly use, like, a reload, especially with their pitching.

Paredes is unique, though, in that, man, that ballpark's just perfect for him because he's just a dead-pull hitter.

Deadpool.

Yeah.

He hit twenty five homers this year.

I think if you look at his baseball savant page, though, like I think fourteen of those maybe would have been out of PNC Park.

It's one of those things where I think he would still like he's still a good hitter regardless of the ballpark that he's at.

But Houston certainly props him up a little bit.

So he would have hit sixteen home runs.

at PNC Park this year, which isn't terrible.

He's still a pretty good hitter.

Hits the ball hard.

Don't get me wrong.

I would take Paredes in a heartbeat, but I don't know about the fit as well as some of these other guys that we've mentioned.

If I'm Houston, I'm still...

I feel like they got to figure out a way to just make that work, like, long-term.

Because, like, hey, Paredes, like, you're going to have your best career here.

We're going to get the most value.

Like, the most value that you can provide a team is here.

So, yeah, I think...

I think Houston will probably look to figure out a way to hold him on.

If that's just, if I were Houston, I'd be like, I need to figure out a way to keep this guy for the next eight years.

like that's just what my thinking would be.

But who knows what they're thinking?

If he's available, certainly ask around because yeah, he's another just solid, not necessarily a lefty masher.

Like we've been talking about these other guys.

He can hit lefties, but he hits righties just as well.

He's not really a, He's not really like a platoon split guy.

He's an everyday player.

Yeah.

Well, that's, I think, again, like I'm looking for an everyday player at third base, the way this is set up.

But those are like what I'm looking into, like that type of a player, like these stopgaps, like the one year.

Again, I do like Alec Bohm, but I don't know if I really want to invest that much into like an Alec Bohm.

I don't know if I really trust that.

Like, I don't know if this is the year to really look into like the future of third base.

In that sense, it might just be like, hey, let's like a Brandon Lowe type of move.

Like, let's worry about this year that we can worry about again next year if we have to.

I guess I'm thinking with someone like Boehm, and I don't love Bohm's defense either.

I don't know if he's getting... No.

Not really.

He had that really good series against the Pirates where he looked good against the Pirates, but he was awful at third base this year.

He was awful.

He was negative ten defensive runs saved, which is his worst defensive season since twenty twenty two negative eight outs above average, which is his worst season ever.

He's not good over there at all.

So you're still running the same issue where if he's not hitting like he did this year, like this year he didn't hit and he played terrible defense and he gave you point to war.

if he's hitting a little bit, then, he can put up, two plus war, but I don't know if I'd trust him.

I would take Bohm on a one year deal though, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't do more than that, but you're still not fixing the defense problem.

Right.

all right well to tell you a little about the sponsor of the show Defer is a family and employee and owned operated business they believe that coffee and tea are one of life's simplest and most accessible pleasures and when enjoy thoughtfully can open your eyes to the

here and now they have five locations across the city of pittsburgh including their flagship in the heart of pittsburgh's historic strip district don't forget to stop by Defer's new location downtown up and avenue right across from the benedome grab a cup and fuel up on your walk to pnc park

Mobile ordering is available and check out their Instagram for more details.

And of course, Jim, let everyone know how they can save themselves.

Yeah.

Go to the defer.coffee.

Fill up your cart, enter promo code and S nine three zero, and you'll get thirty percent off your first order.

Actually ordered some somewhere.

I ran out of coffee this weekend, so I had to go on to defer.coffee and order some coffee on Saturday.

So.

Yeah.

Nice.

Got some subscription.

Never worry about work.

Yeah, I need to probably do the subscription.

But no, I did the what's the Sons of Vulcan.

That's the flavor that I did.

I had that before.

Yeah.

Again, I always forget which one I currently have.

They just come in.

Yeah.

But I've had that before.

I've liked every single one.

So no complaints here.

Yeah, it's all really good.

Yeah.

Right.

But yeah.

So, we've talked about third base.

there's certainly some options here.

Any more that you want to talk about?

You want to move on to like our outfielders?

No, let's move on.

I think we're already spending more time on this than we wanted to.

But yeah, in terms of the outfields, the guy who I would have loved to have got at the deadline was, we talked on the PowerPoint.

Jo Adell was a name, and you're seeing what he did once he went over to Cleveland, like just crushing left-handed pitching.

I have a feeling that – and he's under team control for one more year, so I don't know if you can even go out and get somebody like him at this point.

Cleveland seems – quite happy i think with him well let's real quick projected our figure nine point six million we are talking about cleveland i could see

them unloading him well nine point six million that you're getting in a non-tender category i guess no that's because are you are you paying that for him right no nobody is paying Jo Adell

nine million dollars okay so That's what I wanted to bring up here as well.

That's a good point.

If he's a free agent and you can pick him up for like a six million dollar-ish deal, then it's maybe a little bit different.

Are you also looking at him like an everyday type player or just a platoon?

No, that's the thing.

I don't think you can look at him as an everyday player because, yeah, he crushes lefties, but he's...

I wouldn't say he's unplayable versus righties, but he's not good.

He's a sub-six hundred OPS against right-handed pitchers, and that's just not something that you can tolerate from a corner outfielder.

You can't play a corner outfielder who's going to give you an OPS below six hundred.

So he's strictly a platoon bat.

I...

So I would love Adell, but I don't know.

I feel like he's going to be tricky to get.

And you can really look at all the same people that we looked at the deadline, right?

Like a Tyrone Taylor is going to be a free agent, right?

Like that whole PowerPoint slide that we made, I think Tyrone Taylor would be an outstanding fourth outfielder, someone who can play all three outfield positions and he hits lefties.

so like, that's certainly, a thing that you could look at.

and he, and he holds his own against righties too.

It's not like, he's incapable of hitting right-handed pitching, but like he certainly is better against lefties.

So, Tyrone Taylor, honestly, may even be playing himself into a role where somebody looks at him as a starter, too.

He's having a pretty nice season, and he's thirty-two years old, so he's probably not getting any multi-year deal, but good defense, plays all the outfield positions.

I guess if you could have an ideal fourth outfield candidate, he's up there on that list.

Yeah, I agree.

Like you mentioned, pretty much everyone we talked about the trade deadline makes a whole lot of sense i want to bring up another name here because i don't know what they're

doing also like this is a bad year and he had a bad season but maybe a like a little bit of turnout what about like a harrison bader making about another guy next year who and

you also know like you're getting good defense in the outfield you can play center like that's another thing too like with the o'neill injury like this guy can play center field also yeah

well he got hurt this year and that cut everything short so like he played forty nine played thirty games this year and it was bad thirty games this year and it was bad

historically Bader has hit lefties.

If I remember correctly, just from his Cardinals days.

Yeah.

One Oh six weighted runs created plus versus lefties first career, eight, nine against righties.

So like he, yeah, I think with Bader though, like, you would need the giants to pick up a pretty good chunk of that salary.

If you're going to acquire him, like you can't, you can't be given Harrison Bader, a million dollars a year.

But if the Giants want to pay six of that, then sure.

And like Hamilton said, maybe write something in his contract that keeps him away from scooters.

Those things are dangerous.

I was out downtown Louisville last night, and there was a band of teenagers, DiNardo, just rolling down Main Street on scooters, and they were causing all kinds of...

You are old man.

It clouds this morning.

Oh man.

Like they were, it was, I was worried.

I was, they were going way too fast.

Opposite direction of traffic.

I was like, what are these kids doing?

Oh, these damn kids.

But no, I am.

I'm not as interested in Bader to be honest with you.

Okay.

I'd like to, unless the giants want to pick up a big part of that tab.

I just do think he is, he is again, we've, I feel like we've talked about as far as outfielders great length, especially the trade deadline about these players.

So I'm trying to find like other, maybe other things.

And yeah, Harrison Bader pops up as a, like a possibility as well.

there's others too, but like Jung Hoo Lee, I don't think that's happening, but he's also his last year.

He's also a left-handed batter.

Yeah, but he hit lefties.

Well, That's an everyday option.

If you're getting Lee, he's an everyday player.

I know you are.

I'm not looking for an everyday outfielder.

I'm not turning away.

i'm looking for an everyday player i'm not now again i'm not even looking for one i don't i don't want another every well you are in third base clearly third base sure outfield but again like if your third

base is the guy like he's the dude and i think when we talked here like Alec Bohm i don't know if he's really like oh the dude like that's not the guy that's replacing for an allow for me So that's, again, where I'm at.

Like, if you get a guy that you feel very comfortable at third base, then, we can talk about platoon guys and such.

But, yeah, I don't know, man.

That's a lot of offensive losing you're going to allow.

I just don't think you're – replacing Brandon Lowe is going to be a difficult task.

It is.

It is.

I don't know if you can – it's going to be like that money ball scene where it's like you just got to recreate him in the aggregate.

Like, there is no just getting a new Brandon Lowe.

It's just, like, figuring out how you can make up for that production in other ways, I think.

But at any rate, outside of the guys, again, that we have really talked about, because, again, they were, like, impending free agents for the most part, guys that smashed lefties.

Like, there's not too many other guys, I feel like, that are out there.

Like, the newer versions of them, at least yet, that are really much, like, out there.

Yeah, I think if you're looking for somebody, like I said, really like Tyrone Taylor, I'm just a little worried that he has played himself into maybe a next caliber.

Maybe not, because he is a little old still.

He's thirty-two.

He's going to be thirty-three.

So there is that possibility.

But like Austin Hayes, Tyrone Taylor.

Austin Hayes would be like your budget.

Lane Thomas.

like Austin Hayes is probably somebody that you can get for relatively cheap.

I think he signed for six million this year.

And that was after a pretty decent twenty twenty five.

And he wasn't that great this year.

He still he still did a pretty good job.

Yeah, he still did a pretty good job against lefties.

But, he's last year.

I think you could have.

talk to yourself into, Hey, I could probably play this guy every day.

I don't think like that.

That's out of the equation now.

So I don't know if Hayes gets a six million dollar deal this year.

So yeah, Hayes is a good option.

Taylor's a good option.

I don't love, I don't love Hayes as much as Taylor just cause the lack of position versatility, he's not as good defensively, but, Yeah, Hayes is that type of guy

I would be looking for.

I'm not looking for an everyday outfielder.

I'm looking for somebody who I can put in there against left-handed pitching and I can feel comfortable with them up to bat.

That's pretty much the extent of it for me.

Yeah.

it's early in the off season.

We've got a lot of time to talk about this, but wanted to address that because I think there was, I know a lot of people have like, well, how do you fix this left-handed pitching issue?

And it's like, well, there's, there are, there are some ways out there to do it.

And I think all of these players are almost contingent on Brandon Lowe not coming back.

I think if you're bringing Brandon Lowe back, because that's the question here.

If you're bringing Brandon Lowe back, you're probably spending so much money that it's limiting you the ability to do really much else with this team.

Again, we can talk about this all we want about how let's just go out there and get all the players that we need.

But it's the Pirates, and you've got to just understand that's not how they operate.

They have a budget, and they don't go over that budget.

And if you sign Brandon Lowe, your payroll that's already sitting at a hundred million dollars goes to a hundred and twenty five million dollars.

they're not going above that probably like they're not going significantly.

They're not going at that.

Yeah.

So, it's like you're either signing Brandon Lowe or you're doing this type of stuff where you're picking up someone who can play third and someone who can play

corner outfield and some like that's, those are your choices.

You're not, you can't go out there and get everything that you want.

You're not, You're not the Dodgers.

Like you're, you've got to pick and choose.

You got to pick and choose what's important.

So I guess my question for you and for everybody watching is like, if you could make one significant move here, are you just resigning Brandon Lowe and saying, screw this left-handed pitching issue?

It'll fix itself.

Or are you going out there and are you finding a right-handed bat that instead of like, and again, this is, you have to pick one or the other.

Are you fixing your left-handed pitching issue or are you bringing back Brandon Lowe?

But let's say that's the question.

It's going to be very unpopular, but I think I've made my stance heading into this where it's just like, if I had all the luxuries in the world, I'm bringing Brandon Lowe back.

But again, I don't have all the luxuries.

And you're to give me one move, I'm going to use those funds to use it on something that I need, which is, just give me the right-handed version of Brandon Lowe.

If that's what Brandon Lowe costs, then just find me the right-handed version of Brandon Lowe.

I know you're giving the side eye right there.

I know they're not easy to find, in a sense.

But that's what I'm saying.

It's just like, even if I have to take a little bit of downgrade, to me, to some level here...

If my only move is getting Brandon Lowe back, then I'm running it back.

And we know what that is.

It's a problem.

So give me more towards like I need to do something different.

That's just where I'm at.

Again, I know it's probably unpopular.

But if I could bring Brandon Lowe back and do all these other things, then that's great.

But I can't.

I can't.

Especially this question.

Do one thing.

Bring Brandon Lowe back or do something else.

I'm doing something else because I've seen this.

This didn't work.

This was a problem.

This needs addressed.

So I'm going to at least try something different.

And again, like I know you're saying like the right-handed version of Brandon Lowe might not exist, but maybe someone who's like eighty percent, eighty five percent of it.

I don't know, right?

this offense was good, but it was a problem versus lefties, and if I can at least mitigate that versus lefties some level, that's going to help me more, I feel like.

So that's just where I'm at.

again, I think Brandon Lowe's gone for multiple reasons, not just because of the price point, but also because of everything else that you need to fix if you do bring him back still.

So, like, it's not just twenty-five million.

It's the twenty-five million plus the problem at left-handed.

So anyways, that's just where I'm at.

yeah, I'm going to disagree with you.

If I have to pick one thing, I'm bringing Brandon Lowe back and I'm just hoping and praying that full seasons of Griffin Valdez and Flores is enough.

Close the gap, I guess, left-handed pitching a little bit.

That's my, that's my, that's what I'm doing.

I, If you've got to pick one, that's what I'm doing.

Alright.

I can't fault you.

I'm curious on what our listeners would think on that.

Let's say you can either, again, this team was this team was eighteen and thirty-three against left-handed pitching.

Eighteen and thirty-three.

You can do one thing.

Bring Brandon Lowe back.

or basically fix that problem by acquiring someone who can crush left-handed pitching.

What are you doing?

You can do one.

Right.

But of course, like part of that problem too, is that doesn't really exist at the third base position.

So you're probably doing it as an outfielder.

You could say Coby Mayo fixes it.

This is the offensive problem.

Okay, hold on.

You're not putting Coby Mayo in the same sentence as Brandon Lowe.

Coby Mayo had an eleven hundred.

I'm saying Coby Mayo against lefties.

Yeah, I get that.

Insane hitter.

Yeah.

Eleven hundred OPS.

Anyways.

All right.

Let's talk about Larine Co.

Let's do it.

So a lot of people that I know use nicotine pouches, and the part they miss most isn't so much the nicotine as the routine.

Larine just launched a pouch that keeps the routine but leaves the nicotine out.

Larine Co

pouches are pouches that swap out the nicotine and give you clean focus to support your enamel the whole time they're in.

And because this is Larine, every pouch also has nano, hydroxyapatite, the mineral your teeth are made of, so it gives you daily enamel support in between brushings.

Every other pouch out there makes you pick between something that helps you focus and something that's actually good for your teeth.

This is the only one designed to do both, and it comes with a brand that's leading the way at supporting your oral health.

Give Larine a try.

Right now, Larine Co

is offering our listeners up to fifty percent off at buylarine.com slash North Shore.

That's buylarine, L-A-R-I-N-E dot com slash North Shore for up to fifty percent off.

So, Jim, before we get out of here, I'm going to talk about one of the guys we'll see at the Arizona Fall League real quick.

Yeah.

This weekend, Colin Beasley of the Post-Gazette dropped an article.

I guess it was on Thursday.

I guess it was Friday.

Dropped an article.

He got to talk to Director of Player Development Michael Chernow for a little bit about some prospects.

And one of the people that they talked about was Wyatt Sanford.

So this is good timing because I just, as we're going through these Arizona fall league interviews, if you haven't yet, make sure you check out the Easton Carmichael interview that DiNardo did with

him.

It came out on Friday of last week, but make sure you check that out.

But another guy we talked to was Wyatt Sanford.

really good conversation with him.

I'm excited for you all to watch or listen to that.

But, We saw a big power surge out of Wyatt Sanford this offseason.

Colin mentions in his article that Homer has increased by forty percent this year across the minors.

They were using a juiced baseball, it seems like.

Couple that with being in Greensboro, which is already a pretty Homer-friendly environment, and It turned into.

Nineteen home runs.

For Wyatt Sanford.

Now he didn't play a full season.

So you extrapolate that number.

Over an entire year.

And you know.

He was basically pacing for.

Almost a forty homer season.

Over seventy seven games.

Is what he played.

But we saw a really big power uptick.

Exit velos for Wyatt Sanford.

Went through the roof.

Just some quotes here I want to talk about.

Michael Chernow said that I think Wyatt Sanford is one of the most underrated players in professional baseball.

Stole thirty three bases on thirty five attempts, plays an outstanding shortstop.

The one issue he had this year was his strikeout rate, but he worked on that throughout the entire season and his first half strikeout rate.

thirty two and a half percent, but then dropped to twenty eight percent when he came back.

So still not probably where you want to see it, but it was trending in the right direction.

So, yeah, Wyatt Sanford, he's in the Arizona Fall League now.

So just make sure you pay attention to him this month.

He's facing a lot better competition.

He's not playing in Greensboro.

So it's like it's a little bit different offensive environment.

They're playing with two different.

It is a lot different.

And they're playing with major league baseballs in the Arizona Fall League.

So that's another thing that people don't realize is this isn't the minor league ball they're playing with.

They are playing with the major league ball over there in Arizona.

So, yeah, I am very interested to see how Wyatt Sanford does this month in Arizona because he really turned himself into a very

interesting prospect this season, I think.

Yeah, he was the guy that couldn't hit, but was all glove.

then a guy who as you mentioned was on pace for forty home runs this year i'm very interested in him you know i also bring this up and talk in a sense because you know we were just talking about like murph gray and like the future of first grade how

do you plan about this and i don't think you can plan around Wyatt Sanford right now?

Because, yes, there are some question marks.

The strikeout rate is concerning.

The whiff rate is concerning.

But I don't think it's at a rate where you're writing him off by any means either.

There's some interest here.

It's like the Esmerlyn Valdez thing.

Esmerlyn Valdez has certainly bigger power.

You knew that power existed, so you're able to give him more.

But with Esmerlyn Valdez, the strikeout rate's alarming, but it decreased throughout time, and that's what made him a better prospect.

It's just nice seeing that, like, Wyatt Sanford, like, has a bat.

Because that's what was advertised when he came here.

It was just this glove guy.

Like, it was like, maybe not Cole Tucker, but let's...

That's what I think a lot of Pirates fans are thinking in their head.

Like, oh, great, another Cole Tucker.

Wonderful.

This isn't Cole Tucker.

This isn't Cole Tucker.

Regardless of Greensboro and all that.

That's the thing, too, is the exit velocity.

It's not just being a murderer.

I understand it is Greensboro, but he also is hitting the ball hard.

And he had major improvements with his exit velocity.

So that also makes me believe, yeah, he's not going to be a forty-home-run hitter, but maybe he can at least be a hitter.

He was almost about thirty percent above league average.

as far as the way to run is created plus.

And again, that's among your peers.

So everyone else has the same.

Forty seven percent above league average.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yeah.

One forty seven, not one twenty seven.

Yeah.

So right.

Like there's something there.

He is certainly on my radar and Konnor Griffin exists.

Konnor Griffin's your shortstop.

So he's playing some second base here, too.

It's like maybe that is the future.

And again, if he came here for the glove, the glove is good.

So imagine a scenario maybe in the not-so-distant future it is Wyatt Sanford and Konnor Griffin.

That might be cool.

I'm not comparing the two, and I say this as I compare the two, but Konnor Griffin, obviously, an elite player.

Konnor Griffin in two hundred and thirty-four plate appearances in Greensboro hit seven homers.

Wyatt Sanford in three hundred forty one played appearances at seventeen homers.

So it's like Wyatt Sanford and Sanford's a year older than Griffin, essentially.

not even a year older.

He's five months older than Konnor Griffin, but he played Greensboro.

Let's call it a year older than Griffin.

Still very young for the level.

Twenty years old.

He performed really nicely.

And you look at Murph Gray's power number.

Again, I'm not saying Sanford is going to put up the same amount of power as Murph Gray, but it's not like Sanford's power numbers were that far off.

He was hitting the ball over the...

He became a power hitter this year.

And I think for him, it's just going to be more of like, how do I find that happy medium between being a contact hitter and a power hitter?

because I think Wyatt Sanford's best spot is if he's in that more balanced range where he's not striking out a ton, but he's putting the ball in play, using his speed, using his athleticism,

but also on occasion popping the ball over the fence because he can do it.

So it's just...

He's someone who's going to take a little bit more time.

He's a high school hitter.

He was drafted out of high school.

The hitting is something that obviously is like this developmental thing.

It didn't just click day one for him like it did Konnor Griffin.

He didn't just automatically become the number one best player in the minor leagues after two weeks because it was like, oh, crap.

But yeah, he took a major step forward for me this year in terms of At this point, there's little doubt in my mind that Wyatt Sanford is going to make the major leagues.

It's just like in what capacity.

Is he going to be a guy who you can just move around the infield because he should be able to play everywhere.

He's a great shortstop, which means he's going to be able to play third, short, and second if you need him to.

So is he going to just be that guy who can plug some gaps?

Or are you looking at a guy who could be your future starting second baseman?

that's where these next couple of years are going to decide for him, I think.

Yeah, man.

three weeks in the season, I was telling him why it pilled and it just continued.

And yeah, like very interesting.

Again, the strikeout rate.

That's a thing.

He strikes out a lot, but it's not over that mark where you're just really concerned that this isn't going to translate.

It's still there.

This could certainly translate.

You still want to see that cleaned up and whatnot, but there's real interest there.

And like you mentioned, he'll be a major leaguer, I think, just for the glove itself, at least.

If anything, he becomes that guy that on draft day, it's always a glove.

The glove will play.

The glove will play if he can at least just handle that in some sense you know have a few year career right until he hits arbitration and such but yeah i think he's a major leader like you said i don't

want that version i want the version that's like hey you're an everyday player and hopefully we can get that but yeah, Arizona fall league.

He's out there.

Pay attention to that.

And then next year is going to be a big year for him as well.

Cause he'll be spending most of it.

I'm sure in Altoona and that's where you really decide and see who the hitters are.

So, yeah, he should be on everyone's radar and he'll be his, get to know be out this week too.

So Jim, you talk with him.

It's pretty cool.

Yeah.

Had a really good conversation with him.

was impressed coming out of it.

So I think that's going to be coming out tomorrow, Tuesday.

So be on the lookout for that.

I think you guys are really going to like it.

Yeah.

Agree.

All right.

Other than that, anything else?

No, let's get out of here.

All right, guys.

We love you.

We'll see you later.

Bye-bye.

Like the video.

Subscribe if you haven't.

Download the app.

Download the app.

The link's right there in the description.

And we'll see you guys later.

Bye-bye.

Yeah, real quick, actually, before we go.

Got to get this in.

We have game two of the NLCS tonight.

And the Dodgers are bringing out Yamamoto.

They are favored, minus-one-thirty-six tonight.

So we'll see if the Dodgers can tie the series up.

No one's touching Yamamoto.

Here it is, Jim.

He's going seven tonight at least.

You're going to get it.

You're going to get your guy finally.

Old school Jim.

Old man Jim's going to be happy tomorrow.

Give me some starting pitcher innings.

There it is.

You might get a complete game the way he pitches in the playoffs.

All right.

We out.

Bye-bye.

See you guys.

All right, that wraps up this episode of North Shore Nine.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

Whether you're listening on the podcast or catching us on YouTube, if you enjoyed the show, please give this video a thumbs up.

And don't forget to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already.

It really helps us grow.

And if you're listening on the podcast, a quick review goes a long way in helping others find the show.

Plus, be sure to tell a friend about us.

There's always room for more here in the NS nine community.

And for those looking to support us a little more, consider joining our Patreon, become an MVP member and get exclusive perks while helping us continue to bring you more of the pirates content you love.

Thanks again for all your support and let's go bucks.